"I have to Rev. You do not realize what these people are capable of. If they have recovered the knowledge of preparing a pit then Dylan's chances of defeating Tourk are practically non-existent."
"And how do you know this Trance?" Holo-Rommie asked.
"I just do."
"That isn't a very good answer." Rev said.
"Maybe not but it's the only one you are going to get." Having said this, Trance pushed passed Rev and headed toward the docking bay.
"Do you think I should notify Dylan that she is coming?" Rommie asked.
"We have no way of knowing if he is unmonitored. We cannot risk the others knowing she is coming. You may want to notify Harper and your avatar though." Rev replied.
"Agreed." Andromeda replied before doing just that.
Trance debated whether she should go straight to the palace or get Harper and Rommie first. Feeling she would need all the help she could get, she headed for the crash site. She was sure they would know she was coming. She arrived at the site approximately three hours before dawn and set down her pod. The first thing she noticed were the unconscious forms lying scattered around the Maru. She made her way to the ship as quickly as possible, stepping over and around the men. Just as she was about to enter the ship one of the Palorians woke up. The first thing the man did when he spied Trance was to begin screaming.
"Demon! Wake up men! The Demons are back!"
He continued screaming as he made his way toward Trance with a large club. He raised the club and took a swing at her head. She quickly ducked and kicked out at him, knocking him down. But the man's screaming had awakened others and they were all getting to their feet. They all had they same reaction when they saw Trance. They reacted with pure hatred and more than a little fear. Just as they were about to attack her in full force, the door to the Maru opened. Rommie walked out and began firing her forcelance at the ground around the men's feet. Trance quickly ran behind Rommie and entered the Maru. Rommie followed her and shut the door as fast as she could. The door had barely closed behind them before the Palorians began heaving stones and other debris at the ship. Even through the closed doors, the two women could hear the men screaming `Demon' over and over again.
"Hello Trance, nice of you to join us. Mind telling us what that was all about?" Harper asked as Rommie and Trance joined him in command.
Dylan restlessly paced the room he was being held in. Even though his body was tired, his mind refused to let him rest. He couldn't stop worrying about Beka. He had only seen her for a few brief minutes at the bonding ceremony before they were separated again. Those minutes were enough for him to notice the large bruise on her face and several smaller ones on her arms. He clenched his fists in anger. He was unsure how he was going to handle things when the morning came but one thing was sure; he was going to make Tourk pay for hurting Beka. The information Andromeda had relayed from Trance was sketchy at best. He knew he would be forced to fight Tourk in hand-to-hand combat and that it would be a fight to the death but he did not really know anything else. Except that according to Trance "the pit was very deep and very bad". Sitting down on the bed, Dylan buried his head in his hands and sighed. He may have been uncertain of what the morning would bring but he was no longer uncertain of his feelings for Rebeka Valentine. He loved her and he would die to save her. Unfortunately the only way to save her was to live -- to live, and to kill Tourk. Finally exhausted, he fell into a light sleep about three hours before dawn.
****
Beka woke up with a strangled cry. For the second time that night, her sleep had been interrupted by nightmares of what would take place the next morning. She was unable to forget how happy she been when she had first seen Dylan and Tyr. She was also unable to forget how terrified she had been when Tourk had captured them. Lying back once again she let the tears she had been holding back, flow. For the first time since being brought here, Beka began to think she might not get out of this palace alive. But worse than that her friends might not live either and it would be her fault.
****
The first thing Tyr noticed as he awoke was the pounding pain in his skull. The second thing he noticed was the complete absence of light. As he tried to sit up he realized he was chained to a table. The chains held his arms and legs firmly in place. A metal collar kept him from moving his head more than a few centimeters. Unable to stay awake, his eyes slowly shut as he slipped back into unconsciousness.
****
Far below them all, in a small hidden room, a single candle glowed. A glass beaker sat in front of the candle as the room's only occupant carefully measured several different ingredients into the beaker. As the final ingredient was added, a small puff of smoke erupted from the concoction. The liquid turned a bright blue. Taking a small vial from a nearby rack, the person poured the potion into it.
"I will not allow anyone to stop what must happen. My people will survive, no matter what." The person whispered before blowing out the candle and leaving the room.
****
Trance ignored Harper's question, instead posing one of her own.
"How long until the repairs are completed?"
"At minimum another twelve hours. We thought we were close but when we sang our little buddies outside to sleep, we fried a couple extra components. I can cannibalize the necessary parts but it will take time. Not to mention the fact that we are going to have to deal with our `friends' out there before we can complete the repairs."
"Why?" Trance asked.
"Because the only way to get a couple of the parts we need is to take them from the pod. Which is what I was going to do when I saw you fighting off the Palorians." Rommie answered.
"Well if that isn't just swell." Trance said, stomping her foot impatiently. "We have less than three hours before Dylan is forced to face Tourk over the pit. He needs our help."
"Well, my purple pixie, we are open to any suggestions you may have." Harper replied before turning his attention back to the console he was repairing.
Trance stared at his back for several seconds before hanging her head.
"No, I seem to be out of ideas. And Dylan is out of time." She said so quietly that only Rommie heard her.
****
Dylan was roughly shaken awake before the sun rose. He was taken to a small dining area where a large breakfast was waiting for him. He forced himself to eat a small amount of food knowing he would need his strength. When he had finished he was taken back to his room and given a set of clothes to change into. The outfit consisted of tight leather pants and leather boots. There was no shirt, only a black sash to be worn around his chest. After he was dressed, the guards led him out of the palace and across the burnt remains of the gardens. They took him out of the palace grounds and through the trees in the opposite direction he and Tyr had come. Once in the forest, Dylan had tried to escape but he was outnumbered eight to one and the attempt failed miserably. Just as the sun began to rise, Dylan found himself in a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing a large pit had been dug. It appeared to be forty feet across but Dylan was unable to see into it to gauge its depth. He counted at least a dozen rope bridges spanning the pit. They criss-crossed each other, some slightly higher than others.
He turned his gaze to the people around him, seeking out Beka. He found her standing between two heavily armed guards not far from his own position. Beka turned as if feeling his eyes upon her and looked at him. He offered her a small smile that she returned half-heartedly. Continuing to peruse the crowds, Dylan was unable to find Tyr anywhere but did see Tourk along with the two women he had pulled away from Beka yesterday. They were standing near one end of the pit on a raised platform.
Tourk raised his arms and immediately everyone fell silent. The guards holding Dylan began to drag him towards the platform. Once Dylan stood below him, Tourk spoke to the crowds.
"My people, you are gathered here today to witness an event not seen by our people for over a thousand years! Today I, your king, will fight not only for my life but also for the future of our entire race! After today we shall embark on the road to the salvation of our way of life, to the return of what was stolen from us, to our people being worshipped as the Gods we once were! But most importantly after today we shall have the means to carry out our revenge on those that took what was ours! We shall be able to strike back at the Demons and utterly destroy them!"
It was several minutes before the clapping and cheering died away. When the people were silent once more, Tourk turned and addressed Dylan.
"You knew of the challenge itself but do you understand what is expected of you?"
"I know we will fight and I will kill you." Dylan replied. "What else do I need to know?"
"A man of confidence, I like that." Tourk said with a smile. "However, I do not think you fully understand what you are getting into. I am still unsure as to how you even knew of the challenge itself."
"I have my ways." Dylan replied sarcastically.
"Be that as it may, I will explain anyway. The pit that you see before us is our arena. We will each start out at opposite ends of the pit. We will fight on the bridges. Once the match begins, if you leave the bridges you will be killed. We will have only our fighting skills to rely upon. The match ends when one of us is dead."
"Sounds simple enough. Can we just get this over with?" Dylan asked.
"So eager to meet your death, my dear Captain? There is one other thing you need to know about the pit. The pit was made with very old and very powerful magic. It contains the very spirit of the planet. If you fall into the pit, your soul will be trapped there for all eternity. You will spend forever trapped in a living hell. The earth itself hungers for our souls. It will do everything in its power to make both of us plunge to our doom."
As if to prove the validity of Tourk's words the sun rose completely, it's first rays touching the pit. A howling wind suddenly blew up from the bowels of the earth. Waves of heat spread along the spectators as they tried to shrink back from the hole. An eerie glow could now be seen within the depths of the pit.
"See, Hunt? She grows impatient for us." Tourk said as his face took on an exalted, almost maniacal, expression.
"Then we shouldn't keep her waiting." Dylan replied.
Trance watched the sun rise from the Maru's viewscreen. Despite their best efforts, they had been unable to find a way to reach the pods. Trance felt as though she had failed everyone. Not only were the lives of her friends at stake, but the lives of all the races that the Palorians would enslave or destroy, including her own people. Despite an outward appearance to the contrary, Trance was anything but nave. She knew that once the Palorians had begun to reproduce and teach their young ones to use their magic, the first thing they would do would be to seek out and destroy everyone of her race. And despite the fact that her family was scattered to the ends of the known worlds and beyond, they would someday accomplish this. If only her people were still as unified and as strong as they had once been, things might have been different. But as things now stood, her race was as doomed as all the others.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout of excitement from Harper.
"Yes, I am the man, the super-genius, the numero uno, top..."
"Of course you are Harper." Rommie interrupted. "But since we already know this how about skipping it and telling us what you have done?"
"Well, it wasn't easy and I had to do some real fancy refitting that wouldn't pass inspection on a junk barge, but then the Maru isn't state of the art to start with ya know, BUT I have managed to get weapons back online." Harper said finally stopping long enough to catch his breath.
"And that helps us get to the others how?" Trance asked.
"Well, now we can simply remove our little neighborhood welcome wagon outside, get to the pods, and go get `em." Harper said.
"Sounds simple enough." Rommie agreed.
"You mean you want to just kill two dozen unarmed men in cold blood?" Trance asked aghast.
"It didn't seem like such a bad idea `til you said it like that." Harper said scratching his head.
"I see no problem with it. They are hampering our repairs and endangering our crew. They need to be dealt with and we now have a way to do just that." Rommie said.
"Well, I see a big problem with it." Trance replied. "We are not cold-blooded killers."
Rommie only looked at her.
"There has to be another way." Trance said determinedly.
"Trance, listen to me. When you first got here you were saying how Dylan and the others were running out of time. Now you want us to waste even more trying to figure out a way to help them that doesn't involve hurting the very people stopping us from helping them. It is my duty to help my Captain and my officers when their lives are endangered. And that is exactly what I plan on doing." Rommie said.
"Can we fire the weapons at them without actually killing them? Maybe just frighten them off or something?" Trance asked quietly.
"We can try firing over their heads. But if that doesn't work I am prepared to do whatever it takes to get to our crew members."
"Fine but I still don't like it."
"To be honest, neither do I but I will do whatever is necessary to save our friends." Rommie said offering Trance a small smile.
Trance weakly returned the smile. She turned to once again look out the viewscreen.
"They were once a proud race." She said quietly. "They were good and used their magic to help so many others. Then as the other races began to honor and worship them, they lost sight of that goodness. More and more of them became high on the power they were receiving. They began to make demands for the magic they once gave freely. They began to allow their dark sides to emerge and after a while they found they could not control that part of them. Many didn't even want to. They began to fight among themselves as well, each seeking to be greater than the others. They took so many lives and did such horrible things. Now look at them, reduced to only a couple hundred people when they originally numbered thousands. It is sad."
Harper and Rommie looked at each other as Trance talked. Neither said anything to interrupt her but both were wondering just how much Trance really knew about these people and how she came about that knowledge. They both just added it to the growing list of questions they had about their mysterious purple friend.
The guard carried the tray into the darkened room. The prisoner lay upon the table, still and silent. The guard knew of Nietzscheans and was surprised at the ease this one had been captured. Tourk was truly a king worthy to possess the magic. He placed the tray at the foot of the table and released the collar from the prisoner's neck. He had been told not to release the man at all but he was not about to spoon-feed him like a baby. He wanted to complete his duty of feeding the prisoner quickly so that maybe he could see some of the challenge before Tourk killed the alien captain. He released the chain holding the man's left arm in place. Suddenly the tray at the foot of the table crashed to the floor. The guard turned his head to look at it but suddenly saw only darkness.
The drums were growing louder in volume. They had begun very quietly but the tempo had quickened and the volume had increased. Just when Beka thought her brain would explode from the noise, they stopped without warning. Tourk stepped down from the platform and shed the cloak he had been wearing. He was dressed exactly as Dylan was except he wore a blue sash across his chest. He began walking toward the far end of the pit. Dylan was left to stand at the end near the platform. As Tourk reached Beka, he paused and once again grabbed her and forced a bruising kiss to her lips. Turning to look back at Dylan, Tourk saluted and then continued on to the end of the pit. Beka could feel Dylan's gaze on her once again and slowly raised her eyes to look at him. Everything she had wanted to tell him, everything she had longed to hear, was expressed in their eyes at that moment. Fighting with all that she had left in her, Beka kept the tears threatening to fall at bay. She would not show any fear to their enemy. And she would not cry for Dylan because he was going to win.
Never taking his eyes from hers, Dylan stepped up to the edge of the bridge. He gave her one last smile and then turned to face Tourk who was now standing at the other side.
****
Tourk was the first to step onto the bridge with Dylan only a split second behind him. Taking a moment to look at the bridges Dylan realized that this was the only one that went completely across the gaping hole. All of the others were offshoots of this central bridge. Looking down, he got his first look into the deep abyss. He could see a faint swirling red mist deep in the bowels of the earth. As he continued to look into the mist, he could have sworn he saw a human image in the mist that began to rise up towards him. Blinking quickly he looked again, only to see nothing but shapeless mist. Looking up at Tourk once more, he nodded to the self proclaimed God.
"Let's bring it." He muttered before stepping forward.
****
Tyr was surprised with the ease in which he managed to escape the palace. The corridors were empty except for the occasional lone guard. He made his way down the hallways looking for any sign as to where Dylan and Beka may be kept.
****
The Palorians scattered quickly as the weapons fire destroyed parts of the forest directly behind them. Their companions, in the frantic race to escape the destruction, overran several of them. They quickly took refuge deeper in the surrounding woods but none of them left the immediate area.
"They do not seem to be leaving." Rommie stated. "We have no choice but to be more direct in getting them out of the way." She looked toward Trance as she said this, hoping the young woman would not try to stop her from doing what she must to get help to the others.
"I guess you are right, we have no other options." Trance replied sadly.
"Harper prepare to fire weapons again on my mark." Rommie said. "Aim for the Palorians."
"Aiming and preparing to fire." Harper replied.
"Now." Rommie said.
Harper pushed the firing mechanism but nothing happened. He was reaching for it again when sparks erupted from the console and the panel exploded. Harper jumped back falling on his backside.
"Well I did say the repairs weren't exactly up to specs." Harper said coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear away some of the smoke.
"So where does that leave us now?" Trance asked.
"We have to get to the pods. I will simply do what I should have done in the beginning and try to make it through myself." Rommie said.
"Rommie there are over thirty men out there and we only have two forcelances. There is no way even two of us armed could make it with those odds." Trance said. "Harper any chances of getting the weapons back online?"
"Yeah, but not in this century or at least not without some new parts." He replied glumly.
"We should have taken advantage of the weapons when we had the chance and destroyed them." Rommie said with a hint of anger in her voice.
"No, we shouldn't have because then we would be no better than they are." Trance replied. Seeing that Rommie was about to protest she added, "And don't you dare try to give me that `I am a warship' speech because I quit buying it a long time ago."
"So any other ideas?" Harper asked looking from one woman to the next.
****
After an hour of searching, Tyr had come to the conclusion that his crewmates were no longer in the palace. Careful to avoid detection he made his way out into the grounds and through the gardens where yesterday's fight had taken place. He made his way to the wall at the back of the gardens and quickly scaled its heights. Dropping gracefully to the other side, he paused trying to determine what his next move should be. He realized the others must have been taken to another location where the challenge would be held but he had no idea where to look. Perhaps they were on the other side of the woods or maybe even in the village. He gauged his position and determined he was within a half hours walk of the pod he and Dylan had landed in the day before. Deciding he would not find them himself, at least not in time to be any help, Tyr headed for the pod.
****
Dylan grabbed the railing of the bridge just in time to save himself from being thrown off the bridge. A large guard stood only a foot from the edge of the bridge with his sword raised, ready to end the challenge should Dylan take another step backwards. Righting himself quickly, Dylan charged back toward Tourk knocking the other man onto his back. Tourk managed to bring his legs up and push Dylan off, quickly getting to his own feet once more. Both men paused a moment to collect their breath. They had been fighting for an hour and neither had really gained an upper hand on the other. They were both in top physical form and their fighting skills were very evenly matched.
Dylan risked another quick glance over the side of bridge. He noticed that the mist was growing closer the longer they fought. It now filled more than half of the pit. He had seen the ghostly face more than once when he looked into the mist. He no longer doubted Tourk's claim that the mist within the pit was a sentient being. Something down there was alive and it wanted him.
Seeing where Dylan's attention was, Tourk also looked into the pit. He noticed how much closer the mist was. While he did not let it show outwardly, the mist frightened Tourk as nothing else did. He knew if it claimed him, he would pay dearly for releasing the power and claiming it as his own.
"The lady grows ever more anxious for us Hunt." He called out. "Her hunger must be appeased soon."
"Well since a gentleman should never keep a lady waiting, why don't you just jump right in and save me the trouble of putting you there." Dylan asked.
"Funny, I was going to suggest the same thing for you." Tourk replied.
"I guess neither of us is much of a gentleman then." Dylan answered.
Both men began to move toward one another to continue the battle that had began at sunrise.
****
****
Part 24
Beka wished that the screaming would stop. She wasn't sure who was screaming or why they were
screaming but she wanted it to end. It was several seconds before she realized the sounds were
coming from her own mouth.
****
Tyr landed near the village and quickly made his way toward the row of cottages lining the street. He saw several villagers but they were all old people or women. There were no palace guards nor for that matter were there any able-bodied men from the village. He was sure that Dylan and Beka had not been brought back here. He paused for a minute to decide what to do. Should he head back toward the palace to look for his Captain or should he head toward the crash site where Harper and Rommie were trying to repair the ship? If he went to look for Dylan and Beka could he find them and save them on his own? If he went for help would he be too late to save them? Cursing the day he had met Captain Dylan Hunt, Tyr headed back towards his pod.
****
"Do either of you have any idea what they are up to?" Harper asked as he looked out at the villagers gathered at the edge of the woods. It had been over an hour since they had tried to run them off with the weapons fire. The men had since regrouped and seemed to be planning something but the crew remained in the dark as to what it was.
"I am unsure as to what they are planning but they seem to be gathering lots of tree limbs and small brush." Rommie said.
"Do you think they are going to go back to throwing things at us?" Harper asked.
"You would think they would realize that was a waste of time." Trance replied.
"Perhaps they do. I am detecting several of the men off in the distance. They appear to be cutting down small trees."
"Think they are making battering rams?"
"More likely they are planning to attempt to burn us out." Rommie answered somberly.
"Well that is just freaking great. We are stuck in here and they are going to turn it into an easy-bake oven." Harper said.
Rommie's prediction was proven true a short while later. The villagers began heaping the branches and brush around the clearing. They quickly lit the brush and began throwing the larger pieces of wood onto the flames.
Suddenly the hatch opened and Rommie rushed out firing both forcelances at the men. Several fell immediately and lay dead but the rest rushed at Rommie with swords and clubs. She continued to fire but it was obvious she could not take out all of them. Harper and Trance huddled just in side the doorway of the Maru. They had hoped to be able to make it to one of the pods under the cover of Rommie's fire but that had proven to be impossible. They watched in horror as the flames grew in size and crept ever closer to the Maru. They were even more horrified to see Rommie lose one of the forcelances as she took a spear in the shoulder. Harper jumped up to go and help her but Trance grabbed his arm and held him back. He angrily tried to shake her hold on him but she was stronger than she appeared. Just as Rommie was about lose to the superior numbers, the villagers began to fall. It took Trance and Harper a moment to realize they were falling dead from weapons fired from above. Looking up, they saw the pod that Dylan and Tyr had taken in search of Beka. Rommie continued to fire on the remaining men but those that could, quickly fled through the woods in the direction of the village.
The pod landed in the field beside the other two. Tyr quickly joined the others. They had retrieved fire extinguishers from the Maru and were dousing the flames that were attempting to reach the ship and the pods.
"Perfect timing Oh Great One." Harper said when the flames were out. "But you seem to have forgotten a couple of things you were supposed to bring back from your little scavenger hunt."
"If you are referring to Captains Hunt and Valentine, I have no idea where they are at the moment. We were separated at the palace and I lost track of them. I have no knowledge as to if they are even still living."
"So you just thought you would come back here and convince us to go on without them is that it?" Rommie asked angrily.
"No." Tyr replied just as angrily. "I came back here to...get your help in finding and saving them." He nearly choked on the last part of the sentence but knew it was his only option.
"Oh." Rommie said, clearly surprised at his admission.
"So where do you think they are?" Trance asked.
"I have no idea. I searched the entire palace and its grounds. They were nowhere to be seen. I also checked the village and it was practically deserted. I surmise that is because most of the villagers were here, trying to use the three of you as kindling for a bonfire."
"Yes, uhmm did we say thanks for rescuing us from that?" Trance asked.
"No."
"Well thanks." Trance said giving Tyr a big smile.
"Yeah, thanks big guy. I mean I like a good barbeque as much as the next guy but not when I am part of the main course you know?"
Tyr only growled at the two of them.
"We are wasting time." Rommie said. "We have to find Dylan and Beka."
"Agreed. Unfortunately the last time I remember seeing either of them was at the bonding ceremony last night. Tourk used some sort of energy beam to hold me in some type of stasis. When I awoke I was chained to a table. I was able to escape thanks to the ineptitude of the guard that brought in my breakfast but could not find a trace of them anywhere."
"Any ideas where they may be Trance?" Rommie asked.
"No, but if Dylan challenged Tourk and the challenge was accepted then the fight started well over two hours ago. We probably can't do much about that now. It is either over or will be soon. I think we should go back to the palace. If Dylan wins that is where the Palorians will take both him and Beka."
"And if he doesn't win?" Harper asked.
"Then we may still be in time to save Beka." Trance said hopefully.
****
Part 25 Coming Soon!
****